An intriguing, fast-paced romance that mixes science fiction and women's fiction seamlessly. A unique and thought provoking story that had me quickly turning the pages to find out what happens next.
If you've ever been at a place in your life that you wonder how your life would look if you would have made different choices, then this is the book for you! Even though this is mainly a romance the way the author mixed in the sci-fi element made it more interesting. The story moved along at a steady pace and did not leave me bored at any point. I only wish I could have felt more connected to Laurel throughout the story, I didn't feel like I knew her well enough to become emotionally attached to her and her struggles. But the storyline was strong enough to keep me turning the pages to find out what happens.
I highly recommend this book for fans of Ali Hazelwood, the writing style and characters are very similar. Overall, I enjoyed the book and thought the ending was very well crafted.
I am grateful to Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read a digital copy of this special book through Netgalley. All opinions throughout this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I am not sure why but this book did not work for me. However, as I always say when I don't like a book, just because I did not like the book, it doesn't mean that someone else won't like it. It also doesn't necessarily mean that I may not like another book by the same author. Or even that I may not like the book if I try it again in the future.

Quantum computers... alternate realities... romance... it's everything you could want in a book! Honestly, I was so hooked on this story that I thought about it when I wasn't reading! I couldn't WAIT to get back to the characters, as if I was living out the storyline myself in real time. I'd say that is a telltale sign of a really good book!

This book dives into the concept of: "What if I'd made a different choice and lived that life instead? Am I missing out on something better?" Laurel's saga with the AltR program warmed my heart and broke it at the same time. She realizes things aren't so black & white, and that there is more to each of these realities than she could have imagined.

I developed differing opinions on Ollie and Drew in each reality, and was surprised how my opinions about them shifted depending on which version Laurel was with at the time. This led me to be annoyed with one of them for a time, and then immediately in love with them again in the other reality. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! I did end up rooting for one of them more than the other though, which made for a riveting ride not knowing how the book would end.

The only thing that bugged me was needing to look up super fancy words more often than usual, HA. Words like: anodyne, inveterate, vertiginous, as well as others I didn't write down. I did feel smarter after!

"What If It's You?" wraps up with a really cool epilogue. If you're wavering on whether or not to read this one, dive on in! Jilly Gagnon is a great writer and delivers a fabulous read.

Thank you to Dell for the ARC via NetGalley! All Opinions are my own.

This is a great dip in to sci-fy with romance at the forefront. It's a little difficult to talk about what happens without spoiling the plot but it is a classic is the grass greener on the other side story. Laurel wants to know which romance is best for her. This was a beautiful novel discussing how your partner can meet you where you are and the horrible things they can bring out in you. I really enjoyed the different conversations that were happening in the relationships. It showed depth in the characters that I really enjoyed.

ARC review]
WHAT IF IT'S YOU by Jilly Gagnon is kind of a soft sci fi romance that's hard to talk about without spoiling.

The premise: Laurel works for a tech behemoth and her work BFF Drew is in charge of the super secret alternate reality project. He brings her in to try it, and the point is that you're supposed to think of an inflection point. A "two roads diverged in the woods" thing, but the AI VR headset thing will show you what if you picked the other road. She tries to go with "what if I hadn't turned Drew down that time he asked me out" but gets a system glitch and it doesn't let her finish setting up her profile.

But then she wakes up the next morning in bed with Drew, not her boyfriend of five years Ollie, who was going to propose but she kind of sabatoged the evening because girlie realize needs some therapy from when her mom left when she was a child. Laurel is freaked out, obviously, but it gets worse, as she finds herself slipping back and forth between two different realities. It's the multiverse!

It's a classic Sliding Doors situation (right down to the severely different hair cuts to help keep track of which existence is which) but with more theoretical quantum physics. It's kind of time loop adjacent, which I love, although I do feel like a lot of the drama revolved around her not having honest conversations. If you know your boyfriend has a ring, maybe bring up why you're afraid of commitment BEFORE you ruin the anniversary dinner!

Still, it's fun, especially from a technical standpoint. How is she going to slip back into her "real" existence? How are they going to shut off her multiple realities? How is she going to learn to talk about her feelings with her boyfriend??

This book had such an interesting plot, and even though I found some of the content confusing, I really enjoyed it!

The premise of the book reminded me a lot of the movie Sliding Doors, which I love! Laurel accidentally sends herself to a different reality when she uses a quantum computer to ask what would have happened if she said yes when a co-worker asked her out 5 years ago. She finds herself randomly sliding back and forth between realities and gets a first hand look at how different her life could be. But as the computer system starts to function in ways it shouldn't, the company threatens to shut the whole thing down. And Laurel doesn't know what happens to her if they do that.

There was quite a bit of quantum physics jargon in the book, and I will be honest in saying that it went completely over my head. I am not in any way shape or form knowledgeable about that! But, the story itself was fun, and served as a great lesson in learning that the grass isn't always greener on the other side!

In the other reality, Laurel is with Drew, her co-worker. He's a work-a-holic and though he's supporting them financially, he doesn't take her very seriously and treats her as an annoyance. But it's very similar to how she treats Ollie, her boyfriend of 5 years, in her original reality. I found myself getting really frustrated with Laurel because she couldn't see what she was doing to Ollie. And he was amazing. Supportive, loving, and willing to do anything for her. He was by far my favorite character.

I honestly didn't like Laurel at first, but I have to say that she redeemed herself by the end and showed a lot of growth. And even though I couldn't for the life of me figure out how things would turn out, I felt like the author did it phenomenally. It was a lot of fun to see her going between realities and race to figure out exactly what happened and how she could fix it.

If you are someone who likes science fiction, romance or magical realism I definitely recommend checking this out!

Thank you to Netgalley, Dell Romance and Random House for the e-arc!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the premise of this book. It reminded me a lot of the movie Sliding Doors. The book sometimes got a big bogged down with the descriptions of how AI worked, but overall I enjoyed this book a lot!

I am so sad that this review is going to be what it is. I loved Jilly Gagnon's book from last year and was so excited to read this one. I don't mind a bit of time slip in my romances. However, I would've much preferred a bit of magic or something like that to be the explanation here over the intense, in depth quantum physics. I also wasn't sold on the main character and between the science and not connecting, I decided to DNF after giving it a good chance to get going. While this didn't work for me, I will look forward to what this author writes again in the future.

Although this book has an interesting premise, all the science can get confusing and make your eyes glaze over if you're not into that. Ollie seems like a great guy, and any issues with him seem to have more to do with Laurel than him. It is not clear why she doesn't want to be with him other than her fear of commitment, and if that is the issue, it seems like it would be the same with Drew or anyone else.

The choice between Ollie and Drew seems artificial. The Drew in actual reality may be a nice guy, but alternate reality Drew is kind of jerk so at no time does the reader actually root for him and Laurel to be together, Accordingly, the novel loses its romantic tension and becomes more of science fiction story of a girl trying to escape from an alternate reality. If you are a science nerd and a romance fan, this book may be right up your alley. However, if you are not interested in science but just straight romance, you might not enjoy it as much.

Cute cover, cute premise. Didn't love Laurel, which made it hard to enjoy this read.

Thank you Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for the advanced reader copy.

Another alternate reality romance for me! This one revolves around Laurel, who constantly asks herself "what if". Specifically if she should've said yes when her work crush, Drew, asked her out five years ago. This all comes to a head when her boyfriend of five years, Ollie, is about to propose and she freaks out. Her company is working on an alternate reality simulator and she decides to try it out. When it malfunctions, she's left hopping between this world and the one where she's been in a relationship with her work crush for the past five years.

I'll start off by saying that I really did not like Laurel. There was nothing wrong with her current relationship and she, herself, admitted as much! Her fascination with her work crush was completely romanticized in her head and based in no real reality. She felt arrogant to me and it really rubbed me the wrong way. It's not particularly surprising how this story ends, I don't think it's even supposed to be. But the love story was cute! Even if I didn't like Laurel! At the end I was torn with how much I liked it because the end REALLY made up for a lot of nonsense in the first half of the book. I came down positively on it, but had to knock some points for my main character dislike.

Also - Laurel & Ollie? Is someone an Arrow fan?????????

Review will be posted on Goodreads, Storygraph, and Instagram on 5/6/25

I absolutely loved the premise of What If It's You. It offers a refreshing and modern take on romance in the technological age, exploring how our connections, decisions, and digital footprints intertwine. The concept of revisiting the question of "what if?" is something so many people can relate to—who hasn’t wondered about the path not taken and how life might have looked if things had gone just a little differently?

Jilly Gagnon does a fantastic job of taking that universal curiosity and spinning it into a story that feels both real and emotionally resonant. Laurel, in particular, stood out to me. Her character was so well-developed and deeply relatable—I saw parts of myself in her thoughts, her hesitations, and the way she navigated relationships and self-growth. It was easy to root for her, to feel her highs and lows, and to genuinely care about how her story would unfold.

Overall, What If It's You is a heartfelt, engaging, and thought-provoking read. It’s the kind of book that makes you think about your own “what ifs” long after you’ve finished the final page. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance with depth, heart, and a bit of digital-era realism.

What If It's You by Jilly Gagnon offers a high-tech twist on a classic love triangle in this clever contemporary novel. The romance sparkles throughout the story, captivating me from the very beginning.

I really liked the concept but I found it hard to sympathize with Laurel. It just seemed so obvious that Ollie was the right guy for her that watching her hesitate got kind of frustrating. I also think that the story got a little bogged down by the scientific explanations at times which made me lose interest. That said, it was definitely thought-provoking and it kept me curious about how things would turn out.

3.5/5 stars

Quick Summary: Laurel is at cross crossroads of figuring out if she is with the right guy. She uses her companies machine to explore an alternate reality where she is with her work crush. Long story short, she ends up getting bounced back and fourth between realites.

This was hard to read for me. I feel like I struggled to relate to Laurel and her situation. Her current boyfriend, Ollie, is a really great guy who is always there for her and supportive of her dreams. She even talks about it in the book, how great of a guy he is. She then talks about how she has a crush on Drew and how she continues to wonder about the "what-ifs" with him. I understand her longing for wanting to know what life would be like if she chose to be with Drew, but she says it throughout the book that she has commitment issues. Instead of talking about her struggles with her current boyfriend, she decides not to talk it out and tries to take care of it herself. Therefore, it was a book that was full of miscommunication.

Now, I did like the premise of the book and message behind the story and about how it is okay to think about the 'what if's', but being in the present moment is the best way to go.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you like love triangles, alternative realities and if you are struggling with a tough decision in your life.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jilly Gagnon, and Random House Publishing Group for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Laurel's coworker and friend shows her the new greta invention, a machine that shows alternate realities based on different decisions, Laurel decides to see what would have happened if she had said yes to the guy she's always questioned a future with.

This was an interesting one. I like Gagnon's writing and this book was no exception. I liked Laurel and both of the male characters. Ollie especially was such a great character. I felt so bad for him at times as Laurel tried to decide what she wanted from the relationship. While the concept was really cool (I love the Sliding Doors type story), there were parts that the explanation was a little too much. Laurel for me also felt off at times. I didn't understand her motivations at points. But, all in all, this was a solid romance with some magical realism/sci-fi twists.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

2.5 ⭐️

For a book that’s only about 290 pages on kindle, I had a hard time getting through this. While there were some good and interesting parts, it was kindof boring to me.

I was not a fan of the main female character, Laurel. She annoyed me. Some of her decisions made no sense especially for someone who so smart and clever; being in her brain hurt. Drew honestly wasn’t any better.. at least in world D. The only character I really liked was Ollie and I started to believe he deserved better.

I will say that I did like the epilogue and I did find the ending gratifying.

Was this book for me? No. Will other people like it? Probably.

4.5/5
Great self reflection romance. The timeline jumps and the what ifs being addressed when a major life event is about to happen. The self reflection Laurel makes is great and written wonderfully. This borders cheating but it is done gracefully that it never happens. The small cast of characters makes the book pace really fast and easy to follow. I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting.
Thank you NetGalley and Dell for the opportunity to read this book

I loved this book, until the end. It was unique and original which I loved. The ending just dragged and got monotonous and I had to pull a star for that. But otherwise, cute and engaging.

dnf @ 10%

I just cannot get behind the fmc - she is insufferable. The sci-fi subplot of this seems really interesting, but I cannot push through for that with this fmc. So far, she’s been so extremely self-centered and like she only thinks about other people in the context of herself. gross!

Thank you to Dell and Netgalley for the advanced copy!